Chapter 137 Doing Good

When Shen Yuanzhu set off for the Jiang residence, Xie Qi was carrying a small velvet hairpin as he entered Jixia Manor.

These velvet flowers are not elaborately crafted by skilled artisans; they are simply three velvet flowers put together, pale yellow with pink hues, shaped like small flower buds.

The hairpin is fluffy and round, made of silver, and the workmanship is not very exquisite.

But for some reason, Xie Qi felt that the Shenyuan Pearl was perfect for him at first glance.

When Xie Qi bought the flower from the old woman, he heard her praise him for loving his wife and protecting his children, which warmed his heart.

A small velvet hairpin weighs only a few ounces, but Xie Qi chose an extremely exquisite gilded silver jade box, put it inside, and carefully placed it on his chest.

As he entered through the back gate of Jixia Manor, he heard someone ahead of him, their voice choked with sobs, pleading pitifully for something.

Xie Qi stood in the inner room, turned slightly to the side, and used a finger to hook a gap in the curtain.

As the curtain was lifted, a draft blew through, bringing sounds from inside the room.

The old man's voice trembled at the end of his words, while Yun Zheng's clear and loud voice made the old man seem extremely humble.

Xie Qi watched the old man kneeling and begging, his eyes as black as ink, devoid of any emotion.

When Yun Zheng grew impatient with the pestering and said he would ask the master for advice, the corners of his lips curled up slightly in a half-smile, but instead of being gentle, a hint of cruel indifference was reflected in his eyes.

He casually lowered the curtain and beckoned to the waiter.

"Master."

Xie Qi leaned against the door with his arms crossed, tilting his head slightly towards the outside of the curtain: "What's going on?"

The waiter said, "It's the owner of a small cloth shop in the east of the city. I heard he has a batch of goods that he can't deliver. I only heard the general idea, and I don't know the specifics."

"Have Yunzheng come to see me."

The waiter went out and whispered a few words to Yun Zheng. Upon hearing that the owner of Jixia Manor was there, the old man bowed deeply in gratitude.

Yun Zheng said, "Don't get your hopes up too high, our boss..."

That's a real, stingy miser.

After saying this, Yun Zheng sighed and walked back to the inner hall.

Xie Qi was already seated, with white tea chilled with ice-cold well water beside him. He rolled up his sleeves to his forearms, revealing his pale wrist bones with tiny scars.

"What's going on with that old man outside?"

Seeing him with his left hand on the back of the chair and the other hand gripping the teacup, gulping down the tea, Yun Zheng felt that he was wasting his good tea.

Xie Qi didn't even lift his head, his legs spread apart and slumped in the chair, looking incredibly unrestrained.

"Tsk."

I can't stand it, I really can't stand it.

Yun Zheng stepped forward and pushed his hand away, sighing, "Have you ever heard of 'Song Shebu' from the east of the city?"

"What is that?"

"It's an old cloth shop. The owner's surname is Song. The business isn't big, but it has a very good reputation among the people."

“If there are weddings or funerals in the family and there is an urgent need for cloth, and if you really don’t have the money to buy it, you can go to ‘Songshe Cloth’ and borrow it on credit first.”

"The old man never presses for payment. You pay when you have the money, and he doesn't ask when you don't. There's a wooden box at the door, so you don't have to tell him to pay; you can just throw it in."

"So everyone also calls him 'the Scatterer'."

Seeing that Xie Qi remained unmoved, Yun Zheng frowned and said, "This 'Song Shebu' is quite old. He has been in business for decades, but he is not considered wealthy."

“A few days ago, a group of merchants from outside the province came and ordered two thousand bolts of coarse linen cloth from his cloth shop. After paying the deposit, when it was time to pick up the goods, the old man’s house caught fire and the two thousand bolts of coarse linen cloth were burned to ashes.”

Xie Qi frowned: "Was this an accident, or was it a setup?"

"Then we don't know."

"Is the old man here to distribute the goods?"

Yun Zheng shook his head: "The out-of-province caravans haven't been paid yet, where would they get the money to find someone to share the goods? They've come to borrow cloth."

"Borrowing cloth?"

Xie Qi frowned: "Two thousand horses?"

They said they would provide a deposit.

Xie Qi tapped the wooden chair armrest lightly with his fingertips, saying nonchalantly, "Don't you have any other places to borrow from?"

Yun Zheng touched his nose: "They said they asked three or four places, but they all politely declined, saying they could give him some silver to tide him over, and some even said they could give him thirty bolts of cloth as an emergency measure."

"But it's just a drop in the ocean, not nearly enough to deliver goods to people."

Xie Qi asked, "How much coarse hemp do we have in our warehouse?"

Yun Zheng's eyes showed a hint of joy: "Two thousand is definitely enough. Before, our business was small, and we only made shoddy goods. We rarely had any good stuff, but we had plenty of coarse cloth and linen clothes."

“Now that Jixiazhuang has opened on Wanbao Street, it’s really not appropriate to sell this coarse kudzu hemp anymore.”

Upon hearing this, Xie Qi looked up at Yun Zheng, his eyes deep: "You want to help him?"

"I just feel that the old man did good deeds all his life and shouldn't have ended up like this."

Xie Qi scoffed: "Then go tell him that he can borrow two thousand bolts of hemp, but he must return double the amount."

"Double?"

Yun Zheng frowned: "Four thousand bolts of coarse hemp are worth a lot of silver. You're going to ruin 'Songshe Cloth'."

He looked at them with disapproval: "Although we've all taken advantage of people's misfortunes, we've always robbed those who don't lack money. Your methods are too ruthless, cutting off their escape route. I'm afraid you'll make enemies in the future..."

Xie Qi waved his hand to interrupt: "Just go and talk to him like that, and see how the old man reacts."

Yun Zheng pursed his lips and walked out.

Hearing that Jixia Village was willing to lend cloth, but required double the amount to be returned, the old man's already hunched body bent even more.

His eyes were bloodshot, and he almost shed tears of blood.

Perhaps it was because he had done quite a few good deeds over the years, so why...

With the delivery deadline fast approaching, if this batch of goods cannot be delivered, wouldn't my reputation built up over the years be ruined overnight?

After a long while, the old man gritted his teeth, knelt down with a thud, and kowtowed towards the direction of the curtain.

"Thank you... sir, for saving me from this predicament..."

In short, he spoke haltingly, and Yun Zheng couldn't bear it, so he sent the waiter with men to the warehouse to count the hemp.

Back in the inner room, Yun Zheng was fiddling with the account book, which made Xie Qi chuckle.

"Laugh? You can still laugh? What are two thousand bolts of coarse hemp to you now? Jixia Manor doesn't sell these inferior goods anymore, I don't know why you're hoarding them."

Xie Qi said, "I only said that he should pay back double, but I never said that I would actually charge him double."

Yun Zheng exclaimed in surprise, "What do you mean by that?"

Xie Qi lowered his eyes and after a long while said, "Just consider this as me trying to win people's hearts."

"If you really want to win people's hearts, just lend him two thousand horses and pay him back later. Why go through all this trouble?"

Upon hearing this, Xie Qi snorted coldly: "Did I make my fortune by being a spendthrift? Do you think I'm some kind of 'Xie Shebu'?"

“I’ve already done more than enough by not taking a single penny from him. If I readily agree, he’ll only think it’s the good karma he’s accumulated over the years that he’ll feel indebted to my Jixia Manor.”

“He will only think that my act of lending the cloth was a matter of course.”

Yun Zheng said, "If you don't want to do good deeds for nothing, why not just earn less money from him?"

"How poor is that old man? Do you think I need his few coins?"

Xie Qi sneered: "Besides, you said it yourself, the old man has a good reputation. It's not worth ruining my reputation for a few coins. It would be both uncouth and disgraceful. Why bother?"

"Only after I take this detour will he feel that this is a timely help and be grateful to me."

It's just a matter of reselling a batch of goods from the warehouse, yet he can win people's hearts. Moreover, the old man is of good character, and he will surely make a name for himself afterward.

Xie Qi tapped his fingertip on the edge of the table and said, "Tell the old man to return five hundred bolts at a time. Once you've collected two thousand bolts, say you never intended to take advantage of him. You only said that to avoid making him feel burdened and embarrassed to easily accept someone's kindness..."

"If you really want to express your gratitude, have this 'Song Shebu' go to Zuiyulou and bring me two bottles of good wine..."

After hearing what he said, Yun Zheng feared that 'Song Shebu' would be so grateful that he would offer himself to her on the spot...

After a long silence, he shouted twice, "Master, you are a great talent!" before giving up.

Xie Qi looked at him with disdain.

True compassion requires a touch of malice; first protect yourself, then talk about benefiting others.

Like that worthless 'Song Shebu,' he personally put himself in a desperate situation, squandering his wealth and nearly causing his family to be ruined.

This kind of idiot shouldn't try to be a good person or play the role of the most virtuous and compassionate person.

Xie Qi, with a disdainful look, patted the small velvet hairpin in his arms and strode home...